Why isn't Downloadhelper working with Youtube?

I have been using the Downloadhelper add-on for years on my laptop with no problem. I noticed about three days ago it was no longer working with any Youtube videos. The rotating icon is still working, and when I click on it, it still gives me the file type choices for downloading. However, after I click my choice, the green arrow shows the downloading process, but comes up '0 bytes' for every type of video.

I am not having problems downloading videos from other sites that I've used before, just Youtube.

Also, I am able to use Downloadhelper with Youtube on my other computer without a problem.

Can you please help? Thanks.

I have been using the Downloadhelper add-on for years on my laptop with no problem. I noticed about three days ago it was no longer working with any Youtube videos. The rotating icon is still working, and when I click on it, it still gives me the file type choices for downloading. However, after I click my choice, the green arrow shows the downloading process, but comes up '0 bytes' for every type of video.
I am not having problems downloading videos from other sites that I've used before, just Youtube.
Also, I am able to use Downloadhelper with Youtube on my other computer without a problem.
Can you please help? Thanks.

Question owner

Disabled all other extensions and add-ons (only have 4 others) and the download still won't work.

I could use another add-on, but I like this product the best.

I've seen a couple other recent posts online with the same issue, unresolved. Would appreciate anything you can think of that will fix this.

Thanks

Disabled all other extensions and add-ons (only have 4 others) and the download still won't work.
I could use another add-on, but I like this product the best.
I've seen a couple other recent posts online with the same issue, unresolved. Would appreciate anything you can think of that will fix this.
Thanks

Question owner

Changing folders did not work. I am not using any file conversion, etc.

In the meantime, I will use another add-on....

Let me know if you discover anything, and if I can solve this on my own, I will let you know what I did.

Thanks

Changing folders did not work. I am not using any file conversion, etc.
In the meantime, I will use another add-on....
Let me know if you discover anything, and if I can solve this on my own, I will let you know what I did.
Thanks

Helpful Reply

There have been attempts by Youtube to stop the downloading of videos on their site. Downloading video from YouTube (owned by Google) does breach Google's/Youtube's terms of service (see below). From time to time, various downloaders will not work on Youtube, until the developer of the downloader finds a workaround (see note at the bottom of this reply to contact the developer of Video Download Helper). Right or wrong, eventually Youtube will find a way to stop users/viewers from downloading its videos altogether. Then, it will be a matter for the courts to decide whether videos posted on Youtube are, or are not, in the public domain.

The terms of service, Section 5B states, "Content is provided to you AS IS. You may access Content for your information and personal use solely as intended through the provided functionality of the Service and as permitted under these Terms of Service. [added underscore] You shall not download any Content unless you see a “download” or similar link displayed by YouTube on the Service for that Content. You shall not copy, reproduce, distribute, transmit, broadcast, display, sell, license, or otherwise exploit any Content for any other purposes without the prior written consent of YouTube or the respective licensors of the Content. YouTube and its licensors reserve all rights not expressly granted in and to the Service and the Content." (NOTE: you can click on "Terms" at the bottom of the main youtube.com page to read for yourself.)

Previous terms of service section 5 was much more lengthy and said "YouTube hereby grants you permission to access and use the Service, subject to the following express conditions, and you agree that your failure to adhere to any of these conditions shall constitute a breach of these Terms on your part:

''you agree not to access Content through any technology or means other than the video playback pages of the Website itself, the YouTube Player, or other means as YouTube may explicitly designate for this purpose.

"You agree not to access Content for any reason other than your personal, non-commercial use solely as intended through and permitted by the normal functionality of the Service, and [added underscore and bolding] solely for Streaming. "Streaming" means a contemporaneous digital transmission of the material by YouTube via the Internet to a user operated Internet enabled device in such a manner that the data is intended for real-time viewing and not intended to be downloaded (either permanently or temporarily), copied, stored, or redistributed by the user.

"You shall not copy, reproduce, distribute, transmit, broadcast, display, sell, license, or otherwise exploit any Content for any other purposes without the prior written consent of YouTube or the respective licensors of the Content."

An important note on 2 items for you to consider:

Google/Youtube makes money from advertising on the Youtube site. The more hits they receive, the more they can charge for advertising on the Youtube site.

Some of those who post videos on Youtube, display advertising before displaying the video. Those individuals/companies, also depend on revenue from that advertising to support their continued production of videos. Those who post videos on Youtube essentially own the videos and all rights to their videos.

There have been attempts by Youtube to stop the downloading of videos on their site. Downloading video from YouTube (owned by Google) does breach Google's/Youtube's terms of service (see below). From time to time, various downloaders will not work on Youtube, until the developer of the downloader finds a workaround (see note at the bottom of this reply to contact the developer of Video Download Helper). Right or wrong, eventually Youtube will find a way to stop users/viewers from downloading its videos altogether. Then, it will be a matter for the courts to decide whether videos posted on Youtube are, or are not, in the public domain.
'''The terms of service, Section 5B states''', ''"Content is provided to you AS IS. You may access Content for your information and personal use solely as intended through the provided functionality of the Service and as permitted under these Terms of Service.'' [added underscore] ''<u>You shall not download any Content unless you see a “download” or similar link displayed by YouTube on the Service for that Content. You shall not copy, reproduce, distribute, transmit, broadcast, display, sell, license, or otherwise exploit any Content for any other purposes without the prior written consent of YouTube or the respective licensors of the Content.</u> YouTube and its licensors reserve all rights not expressly granted in and to the Service and the Content."'' (NOTE: you can click on "Terms" at the bottom of the main youtube.com page to read for yourself.)
'''Previous terms of service section 5''' was much more lengthy and said ''"YouTube hereby grants you permission to access and use the Service, subject to the following express conditions, and you agree that your failure to adhere to any of these conditions shall constitute a breach of these Terms on your part'':
*''''you agree not to access Content through any technology or means other than the video playback pages of the Website itself, the YouTube Player, or other means as YouTube may explicitly designate for this purpose. ''
*''"You agree not to access Content for any reason other than your personal, non-commercial use solely as intended through and permitted by the normal functionality of the Service, and'' [added underscore and bolding] ''<u>solely for Streaming. "Streaming" means a contemporaneous digital transmission of the material by YouTube via the Internet to a user operated Internet enabled device in such a manner that the data is intended for '''real-time viewing and not intended to be downloaded (either permanently or temporarily), copied, stored, or redistributed by the user'''''.</u>
*''"You shall not copy, reproduce, distribute, transmit, broadcast, display, sell, license, or otherwise exploit any Content for any other purposes without the prior written consent of YouTube or the respective licensors of the Content."''
'''<u>An important note on 2 items for you to consider:</u>'''
*Google/Youtube makes money from advertising on the Youtube site. The more hits they receive, the more they can charge for advertising on the Youtube site.
*Some of those who post videos on Youtube, display advertising before displaying the video. Those individuals/companies, also depend on revenue from that advertising to support their continued production of videos. Those who post videos on Youtube essentially own the videos and all rights to their videos.
If you wish, you can contact the developer of Video Download Helper to inquire about your problem and you will be contacted via e-mail - http://www.downloadhelper.net/support-expert.php

Question owner

Thanks, jscher2000... I am not involved in the HTML5 trial.

Thanks to TheOldFox: My use of the Downloadhelper add-on has been for MY personal viewing ONLY and not for distribution. I make no money from Youtube on my channel videos, but YT does. I have read the TOS, and understand that the downloading software developers are constantly providing workarounds for YT's 'blocks'. As I stated in an earlier post, only my laptop is having problems with the DLH add-on not working (with Youtube only, not with other video sites). My other computer has DLH installed and this IS working with no problem. I'm thinking that maybe 'GooTube' has somehow blocked my laptop's IP address, if that is possible. (??)

Thank you for providing the address of the developer. If I find a solution to this peculiar problem, I will post it here!

In the meantime, I will use an alternate add-on, thanks.

Thanks, jscher2000... I am not involved in the HTML5 trial.
Thanks to TheOldFox: My use of the Downloadhelper add-on has been for MY personal viewing ONLY and not for distribution. I make no money from Youtube on my channel videos, but YT does. I have read the TOS, and understand that the downloading software developers are constantly providing workarounds for YT's 'blocks'. As I stated in an earlier post, only my laptop is having problems with the DLH add-on not working (with Youtube only, not with other video sites). My other computer has DLH installed and this IS working with no problem. I'm thinking that maybe 'GooTube' has somehow blocked my laptop's IP address, if that is possible. (??)
Thank you for providing the address of the developer. If I find a solution to this peculiar problem, I will post it here!
In the meantime, I will use an alternate add-on, thanks.

Create a new profile as a test to check if your current profile is causing the problem and only install the DLH extension.
See "Creating a profile":
*https://support.mozilla.org/kb/profile-manager-create-and-remove-firefox-profiles
*http://kb.mozillazine.org/Standard_diagnostic_-_Firefox#Profile_issues
If the new profile works then you can transfer some files from an existing profile to the new profile, but be careful not to copy corrupted files.
*http://kb.mozillazine.org/Transferring_data_to_a_new_profile_-_Firefox

Instead, simply do a search for download youtube videos, and use a site that asks you to input the video's URL, rather than one that installs any software or extensions (add-ons).

This will work fine and you will be able to download any youtube video at any quality setting you like.

I would list a specific site here, but Google would probably find out and shut it down. Not too hard to find one though :)

Most browser add-ins will not work, for now at least.
Instead, simply do a search for download youtube videos, and use a site that asks you to input the video's URL, rather than one that installs any software or extensions (add-ons).
This will work fine and you will be able to download any youtube video at any quality setting you like.
I would list a specific site here, but Google would probably find out and shut it down. Not too hard to find one though :)

Question owner

Googleisevil1,

Love your name, btw! I'm currently using 'another add-on product' that is working fine so far. I have Downloadhelper on my other computer and it is working there, last check. I'm convinced that it's an IP address issue, like it's blocked for some reason. Oh well, thanks!!

Googleisevil1,
Love your name, btw! I'm currently using 'another add-on product' that is working fine so far. I have Downloadhelper on my other computer and it is working there, last check. I'm convinced that it's an IP address issue, like it's blocked for some reason. Oh well, thanks!!

I noticed this issue as of a few weeks ago. It is most certainly a censorship issue similar to the "this video not available in your country". Note that this is only an issue with some videos (mainly foreign released) and hardly ever a problem with a local/non-business video.

Further testing with two European VPNs reveals the same issue even in the same country as the video was released. This leads to the theory that this is a beta release of a new blocker aimed at eliminating unregulated downloads and thus piracy.

SOLUTIONS:

Use a lesser known addon like download helper (keep in mind that as these 'solutions' become more widely used, it becomes economically viable for youtube to curtail these addons)

Donate to the developers of download helper. With adequate funding, the team could possibly exploit loopholes faster than youtube can patch them.

Vote! Stay informed of censorship issues and vote on them. Also, feel comfortable writing to your representatives (note this only works in countries with representative governments)

Some people would also suggest using a bitTorrent client to get your desired video.

Best of luck and may we all just get along!

I noticed this issue as of a few weeks ago. It is most certainly a censorship issue similar to the "this video not available in your country". Note that this is only an issue with some videos (mainly foreign released) and hardly ever a problem with a local/non-business video.
Further testing with two European VPNs reveals the same issue even in the same country as the video was released. This leads to the theory that this is a beta release of a new blocker aimed at eliminating unregulated downloads and thus piracy.
'''SOLUTIONS:'''
* Use a lesser known addon like download helper (keep in mind that as these 'solutions' become more widely used, it becomes economically viable for youtube to curtail these addons)
* Donate to the developers of download helper. With adequate funding, the team could possibly exploit loopholes faster than youtube can patch them.
* Vote! Stay informed of censorship issues and vote on them. Also, feel comfortable writing to your representatives (note this only works in countries with representative governments)
* Some people would also suggest using a bitTorrent client to get your desired video.
Best of luck and may we all just get along!

Helpful Reply

UPDATE July 19th 2013:
here is the fix for 4.9.17 is as follows:
For today's youtube changes, please follow this procedure for downloading
videos that currently generate empty files:
- Open url "about:config"
- Create a new parameter called "dwhelper.yt-sig-perm-85" of type String
- Set its value to "[[2,8],[0,1],[9,21],[65,66],[22,65],[84,85],[66,82],[21,22] (without the quotes).
- Reload the youtube page (no need to restart Firefox) and you should be done.

UPDATE July 19th 2013:<br />
here is the fix for 4.9.17 is as follows: <br />
For today's youtube changes, please follow this procedure for downloading <br />
videos that currently generate empty files:<br />
- Open url "about:config"<br />
- Create a new parameter called "dwhelper.yt-sig-perm-85" of type String<br />
- Set its value to "[[2,8],[0,1],[9,21],[65,66],[22,65],[84,85],[66,82],[21,22] (without the quotes).<br />
- Reload the youtube page (no need to restart Firefox) and you should be done.